Teaching Darkness Sidestories: Twilight Hill Zone
by Rae Logan
Summary: Non canon to the TD series. Experimental crossover collection of stories with the Twilight Zone. Makes sense if you've read the TD series and watched Twilight Zone.


_... I'm so bored..._ Dark told himself, staring out the window idly. _I've already solved the puzzle book Mephy got me twice over and I can't even talk to him, or he'll get airsick if he's awake..._

Dark looked back at Mephiles, who was sleeping fitfully in the seat next to him, pale face having gained a sick tone from the movement of the aircraft.

The shadow then looked back out the window, eyes flashing a bit from the small amount of light outside, allowing him to see fairly clear in the night.

_This sucks... I'm bored, it's cramped in here, and I have the distinct feeling it's only going to get worse from here..._ Dark leaned back in the seat, bringing both hands to his head and dragging them down in frustration.

**How right he was. Because Dark was now on a non stop flight to-**

Dark's eyes snapped open at the sudden narration, startling him like no tomorrow. He spun around to look over the back of the seat, quickly finding the source of it.

"_Double-you-tea-eff!_" Dark exclaimed, choosing not to actually swear out loud. "_When did _you_ get here!_"

"A while..." Rae grinned stupidly. "Now shut up and let me tell the story."

Dark stared at the purple fox for a moment before turning back around, sitting down with an extremely confused look on his face.

_What is she talking about..?_ He asked himself, staring blankly as Rae continued.

**So, anyway... There is a fifth dimension. A dimension of sound, sight, mind and... something else. Strange things happen there... Like murderous talking dolls, kids who warp reality, portals in closets to other worlds, and aliens that want to eat us...**

Dark blinked and looked back at her with a blank look while she stared off to the side, the weirdest grin on her face.

After a moment or so of no reaction, she blinked and looked back at him and finally shouted, arms up and waving, making Dark flinch.

"You're in the Twilight Zone, man!"

"_What now?_" Dark was wondering how no one else noticed her, as he was certain she wasn't there when they boarded the plane an hour ago. "_I'm lost... How did you get here..?_"

"You're obviously new to this..." She huffed in annoyance. "First off, don't talk to the narrator. Second... Some freaky stuff is about to go down. You just have to go along with it..."

"_Uh... Huh..._" Dark said just to humor her.

"So from what I figure, this will be a parody of one of the classics that had William Shatner on the plane..."

"_I'm serious... How did you get here?_" Dark was creeped out. He cautiously reached over to Mephiles and nudged him, the hedgehog stirring after a minute and looking up at Dark miserably.

"... Dark..." Mephiles groaned, still pale looking. "... C'mon... You know I get sick when I'm awake in planes..."

"_I'm sorry..._" Dark appologized. "_But do you-?_" He stopped when he looked back behind him and saw that Rae wasn't there anymore. His fur stood on end for a brief moment and he quickly composed himself. "_Uh... D-do you know how much longer until we can get off..?_"

Mephiles looked at him with one eye open, looking like he almost smiled.

"... Not enough space..?"

Dark paused then nodded slowly, truthfully not enjoying this as the cabin of the plane was too enclosed for his liking. The only reason he wanted the window seat was so he could see as much outside as possible to remind himself that he was only going to be there temporarily.

"_... Worst time to be claustrophobic..._" He agreed nervously, light colored muzzle flushing.

"... I think it's only five more hours..." Mephiles mumbled. "... Then we can-"

He cut himself off, pale muzzle draining of color as he clapped his hands over his mouth, beads of sweat sliding down his face.

Dark reacted fast, snatching up an airsickness bag out of the pocket on the back of the seat in front of him, shaking it open and shoving it into Mephiles' hands, who gratefully accepted it and threw up, Dark watching with a concerned look.

Mephiles finally pulled his head out of the bag, gasping slightly as he folded the top of it, and took notice of a note printed on the wax coated bag. He snorted weakly and pointed it out to Dark, who read it and laughed with him.

_We appreciate your criticism._

Humorous, even lighthearted and it made both of them feel a bit better.

Dark let Mephiles fall back asleep to escape his motion sickness, and leaned against the window, with his face pressed against the plexiglass, staring out into the darkness, bored out of his skull.

Shadow and Rouge were also on the flight with them, seated in another row not too far away, but not so close that Dark would be annoyed at having to spend hours stuck so close to Shadow.

He didn't even want to go, but Mephiles insisted he wasn't being left behind, and besides... This whole trip was part of a strange "doctor's orders" thing, where it was suggested that Dark should venture to someplace different to encourage himself to stop hiding in the dark corners of the house from the rest of the world. There was concern that his self-isolation would cause difficulty in socialization among other things. They were now on their way back home.

So here he was, having been forced out of his comfort zone to go to a strange place he'd never had any intention of venturing. Stuck in a cramped plane cabin, which was unearthly silent for his tastes, but at least it was air conditioned, and no one bugged him.

He huffed, watching his breath fog up the cold glass. He had a clear view of the wing, mentally amused himself briefly by visualizing the air rushing over it aerodynamically. His sharp mind easily identified how the wing worked.

He stared at the wing, before he suddenly saw something flash ever so slightly. He narrowed his eyes in confusion, pressing his face against the glass even more.

He saw it again, something orange in color glowed near the wing tip.

He blinked, pulled himself away from the window to rub at his eyes, and looked back out again.

Nothing.

He sighed heavily, leaning back into his seat, throwing his head back in exasperation.

Great. Now he was seeing things. Every time he was stressed, he would see flashes of light out of the corner of his eye, or even see it clearly in front of him.

Those five hours couldn't come fast enough.

He opened his eyes slowly, staring at the panel of assorted functions above him, such as a mini lamp, an adjustable air vent, an assistance call button...

He reached up and pressed it, watching it light up and give off a **DING** sound.

"Yes..?" A voice sounded off to his far right a half minute later, and he snapped his head up and swung it in the direction of it. A female dog with floppy ears was looking at him. A stewardess.

Dark gave a weak smile, folding his ears back.

"_... Is there any way I can have a cup of tea or something..?_" He asked nervously. "_... Please..?_" He added, remembering how Mephiles had told him to be sure to ask nicely if asking for something... It made people more willing to fulfill your request.

A few minutes later, he was now holding the cup in his hands, a couple sugar packets torn open and sitting on the fold out tray in front of him, and a small plastic cup of ice so he could cool it down faster to his liking. He sipped it and sighed in content.

_... This is going to be a long trip..._ He groaned inwardly.

He glanced out the window again, and froze. That glowing was back, but this time, there was a dark shape among it.

Dark reached for the sliding cover for the window and pulled it down, blocking his view. He counted backwards from ten and lifted it back up, peering under it cautiously.

The shape was now at the window, and Dark's eyes shot wide open and he yanked the cover down roughly, managing a strangled cry of fright as he leaned back in his seat, breathing quickly and trembling.

"... Dark..?" Mephiles' voice sounded off, sounding as every bit sleepy as he looked. Dark looked at him, and Mephiles' eyes looked more alert, motionsickness not as bad as he noticed something was wrong. "... Are you alright..?"

"_... You probably won't believe me..._" Dark muttered, shaking his head. "I _don't think I believe me..._"

Mephiles looked at him cautiously, a bit worried now.

"... What do you mean..?"

Dark blinked, and waved a hand between them, beckoning him to move closer so they could keep it between them.

"_... I know this must sound crazy..._" Dark whispered as Mephiles leaned close. "_... But... I think... I think I saw Iblis out there..._"

Mephiles didn't speak for a minute.

"... Dark..." He said slowly. "... We're over twenty thousand feet in the air... There's nothing out there but birds, clouds, air and more planes..."

"_... I said it sounded crazy..._" Dark moaned, shaking his head with his hands pressed to it. "_But I'm only saying what I saw..._"

Mephiles wondered if Dark's nervousness was contributing to this. Perhaps Dark was too stressed about being in the plane and being forced to go somewhere that it was making his mind play tricks on him. He knew Dark wasn't making it up just to fool with him, and the anxiousness in his voice was telling Mephiles that Dark was unnerved.

Reaching past Dark to grab the cover, Mephiles lifted it up to look outside for himself, just to let Dark know that he wasn't dismissing anything as a lie. The hedgehog saw nothing, and Dark opened his eyes to look too, and was stunned to see nothing as well.

"_I-I-I was sure I s-saw something on the wing..._" He stammered, pressing his face against the window again and scanning his eyes back and forth frantically. "_It was a f-flash or a glow... S-something!_"

"Maybe the moon gleamed off the metal..?" Mephiles suggested, trying to give a reason why Dark thought he saw what he did.

"_But I s-saw him clearly!_" Dark whispered furiously.

"Dark... He's your twin... You probably saw your reflection in the glass and panicked..." Mephiles suggested.

Dark was about to snap at him for suggesting such a thing, and paused. True. He had a point.

He leaned back in the seat again, sighing heavily.

"Maybe you're exhausted..?" Mephiles added, trying to help.

"_I can't fall asleep here... It's not comfortable for me..._" Dark groaned, shaking his head.

"Maybe you can at least close your eyes and meditate..?" Mephiles offered. "It's really quiet in here, so there's not a lot to distract you. Just imagine you're back home..."

"_... Preferably with the blinds shut and the tv on a good program..._" Dark added with a hint of a smile.

Mephiles smiled back with a short laugh.

"Just try and relax... I'm sure everything will be fine once we get on the ground..." He said, leaning back in his seat. "... After all... We came here so you can not be so stressed..."

_Oh... Right... I'm the reason we're even here..._ Dark realized, blinking. _This whole trip is on my account... Huh... That's kinda neat..._

He smiled a little more and nodded.

"_I'll try..._" He said.

A half an hour later, you could find Dark sitting there with his eyes closed, his features at rest, and his breathing quite rhythmic. He was following Mephiles' meditation advice, and found himself to be a bit calmer now.

A tapping to his left caused him to snap his eyes open again.

_I'm just imagining it..._ He told himself, reaching over to the cover without looking and sliding it closed. _There's nothing there... If there was, someone else would have seen it too..._

Mephiles was feeling well enough to stay more alert and saw him do this.

"Are you sure you're alright..?"

"_That depends... Did you hear that?_"

"Hear what?"

"_Nevermind..._" Dark shook his head slowly. At least he knew one thing for sure: if Mephiles' acute sense of hearing did not hear that tapping, then it was obvious it wasn't there.

Mephiles was getting nervous. He knew Dark was trying not to scare him, but it was obvious that he was still fixated on what he saw.

"Dark... Please calm down..." He said in a low voice. Dark blinked and looked back at him.

"_Who said I wasn't calm..?_" He said, raising an eyebrow.

The amount of false calm in his voice made Mephiles shiver a bit.

"No one... You just seem tense..." Mephiles said, shaking his head. "If you want, I'll switch places with you..."

Dark shook his head.

"_No... I prefer the window... Reminds me that I'm not trapped..._" He declined. "_Besides... We've got a little more than four hours left..._"

"Are you sure you'll be fine until then..?"

Dark's eyes widened and flashed in annoyance.

"_What's that supposed to mean..?_" He growled. "_You think I'm getting hysterical, don't you..?_"

"Are you..?"

Dark huffed, folding his arms and turning away from Mephiles, leaning with his side against the backing of the seat, staring fixedly at the covered window.

"_No..._" Dark said in an angry low voice, puffing his quills out and folding his ears back. "_Leave me alone if you just want to think I'm just losing it..._"

"Dark, I didn't mean that..." Mephiles reached for his shoulder, and Dark reacted by slapping it back and catching him by the wrist.

"_You don't have to say it to mean it..._" Dark turned his head and looked at him, squeezing the wrist before throwing it back, turning away again.

Mephiles rubbed at his now sore wrist, tears briefly springing to his eyes.

"Oww... Dark... That hurt..." He mumbled, earning a quick concerned look from his counterpart.

"_I didn't squeeze too hard, did I..?_" Dark looked back at him, appearing appalled with himself. "_Let me see... I'm sorry..._" He apologized, reaching for the wrist carefully, which had a couple bruised spots flaring up through Mephiles' dark blue fur. "_Oh, no... I keep forgetting I have enhanced strength... It's not sprained, is it..?_"

Mephiles shook his head slowly, looking at him with wide eyes.

"N-no... It just hurts..."

Dark knew Mephiles would be able to heal it before the end of the day, but he knew that he shouldn't have hurt him like that, especially when all the hedgehog was doing was be concerned for him.

He reached for his half melted cup of ice, and handed it to Mephiles.

"_... Hold this to it... It'll help..._"

Mephiles forced a small smile and reached for it with his uninjured hand.

"Th-thank you..." He took it and held the side of the cup against the bruises.

An other hour passed, and Dark, who managed to calm down enough to meditate again, was resting with his back to Mephiles.

His ears twitched when he heard the tapping again. He forced his eyes open in annoyance this time, lifted his head and glancing over at Mephiles once more, the hedgehog was also resting, obvious from the light snoring sounding off from him.

Dark lifted his head higher, peering over the back of his seat, seeing that most everyone present was also either asleep or entertaining themselves with music players, books or laptops.

He slid back down, and peered over in front of him, seeing very much the same, and leaned back in his seat, holding his head back in exasperation as the tapping continued.

_I can't wait to get off... I'm getting anxious..._

He looked at the covered window again, almost glaring.

_Mephy's right... There's no way he could be here... We're too high up, and he's gone..._ He reasoned, reaching over for the plastic blinder, catching his fingers on the handle. _I'm going to open this thing and prove myself that... I'm going to-_

Dark cut himself off in thought when he pulled it up and shrieked in fright, jumping back.

"_HOLY SH-_" He was cut off verbally when someone clapped a hand over his mouth, causing him to give a muffled scream and beat his fists against whoever it was.

"Dark! Calm down! Ouch!" Mephiles cried out, yelping in pain.

"_Look out the window! For the love of Chaos, do it! He's out there!_" Dark screeched, pulling away from him and pointing at the window. "_I'm not crazy! I saw him! I saw him!_"

"Is he alright?" A voice sounded off behind Mephiles, who snapped his head in the direction of it, seeing the dog stewardess.

"I d-don't know... He's been upset for a c-couple hours..." Mephiles stuttered an explanation. "He's c-claustrophobic too... He c-could just be having a p-panic attack..."

"_I'm not! Look out the window!_" Dark reached up and shoved at Mephiles' face, trying free himself. "_I'm not panicking! He's out there! Look!_ Look!"

Mephiles shifted his grip and pinned Dark's arms to his side, making Dark shriek in horror.

"Don't try and help!" Mephiles warned the dog. "He'll freak out even more if it's anyone other than me!"

"Hey, what's up!" Shadow's voice sounded off among the chaos. "We can hear him howling back there."

"I don't know!" Mephiles shouted helplessly. "He's hysterical all of a sudden!"

"_I'm not hysterical! Just look out the-_" There was that swear word again... "_-window! I saw him! That flame is right on the wing! Oh, God! Don't touch me!_" His voice reached a high pitched screeching tone now. "_Don't touch me! Let me go! Get off me!_"

"What's he going on about?" Shadow frowned in concern, mostly for Mephiles, who was dodging Dark's attempts to headbutt him to get free.

"_I'm going on about what's on the wing of the plane!_" Dark shouted in a shrill voice. "_Look out there! What do you see!_"

A flurry of moment as people all crowded about the windows near them, and each one of them proclaiming nothing.

"_You're all fools! The whole lot of you!_" Dark howled. "_We're all going to die! We're going to die in this screaming metal death trap!_"

A murmur of other passengers sounded off.

"Hey! Shut him up, will ya!"

"Kid's crazy!"

"I didn't see anything!"

"Just my luck to be riding with a lunatic..."

"Put a muzzle on him, gosh!"

"I can't take three hours of this! Shut him up!"

Mephiles cringed as Dark suddenly stopped struggling, and looked up finally, seeing how everyone was dismissing his claims and even calling him a nut.

Instead of flying into a rage again, he folded his ears down and looked at the floor, hiding his face from view.

Mephiles lowered his own head to look at him, and saw that his pale face was flushed red with embarrassment, his body still shaking as he squeezed his eyes shut and held his head in his hands, muttering under his breath.

Mephiles looked up at everyone angrily.

"Leave him alone! He was having a panic attack!" He puffed his quills out and glared. "You're all horrible, cruel people!"

"What about me? I actually asked if he was okay."

"Except for you, Shadow." Mephiles confirmed. "And you too, Rouge!" He added, shouting back at her.

He looked back Dark, who was mumbling about how they were all doomed repeatedly, digging his claws into his head.

Mephiles reached over and pulled them away, Dark looking up, eyes wide with fear.

"_... I'm not lying..._ He choked, voice a bit hoarse from yelling. "_... He's out there... F-fire's bad for the wing..._"

"I'm sorry Dark, but you have to calm down..." Mephiles said in a low voice. "... You're freaking people out..."

"I'm _freaking people out?_" Dark squeaked, glaring. "_Me? What about how scared I am! You don't believe me, do you!_

"Look... I believe you saw something... I'm not going to call you a liar..." Mephiles tried to reason with him. "But you need to calm down. I can sense that you're very upset, and it's making my head pound. I know how you feel, and if this keeps up, you'll make yourself ill." He put both hands on Dark's shoulder. "I don't want to see you hurt yourself in any way... Please calm down, if only for me..."

"_You're only worried that people will think you're related to a lunatic..._" Dark growled angrily, baring his teeth.

"I don't care what they think... I'll probably never see them again after this..." Mephiles was blown back by his response. "I care about you. Seeing you be that distressed hurts me. We've got a few hours left... How about I keep an eye on the window for you, and you just try and rest..?" He offered as a suggestion.

Dark grunted, looking down again.

"I promise to tell you if I see anything..." Mephiles added, just trying to appeal to him. "If you want, I can ask for a Tylenol or something for you to help you fall asleep..."

Dark did not have the same reaction with Tylenol as Mephiles did, and could use it for the same purpose as the rest of us.

Dark looked up in annoyance.

"_Oh, so now you want to drug me?_" He hissed, looking very angry.

"No! It's not like that!" Mephiles reassured. "I-I just... Dark! I'm trying my best here to help!" Mephiles snapped back, looking thoroughly upset. "You're freaking out about something I have no control over, and keep snapping at me for trying to help!"

"_Because I know you don't believe me! But y'know what?_" Dark folded his arms and lowered his head. "_I'm sure everyone will believe me when we all crash and burn..._"

Mephiles visibly went paler than normal.

"Dark... Don't talk like that..." He said weakly, looking up to see a few worried eavesdroppers. "Everything is going to be fine..."

"_I saw him..._" Dark added desperately. "_Fire is very bad for a plane wing..._"

Mephiles reached an arm over his shoulder carefully, pulling him over to him and away from the window.

"Come over here away from that window..." Mephiles told him, catching him by the face with one hand and making him look his way. "We'll be home soon enough, and you won't have to worry about this anymore..."

"_But-_"

"Daaaaarrrrk..." Mephiles said, half closing his eyes. "Trust me. If anything was wrong, I would have sensed it..."

Dark knew he had a point. He shifted himself more comfortably, turning his back to the window. Without moving his head, he looked up at Mephiles, folding his ears back, still appearing quite anxious.

Mephiles knew Dark wouldn't be able to just stop being worried right away. All he could do for him was keep an arm around him comfortingly, and tell him that everything was going to be fine.

When they hit a bit of turbulence, Dark tensed up and howled in terror as he struggled to get away. Mephiles kept his arm on him and assured him that it was nothing to worry about.

Mephiles hit the help call button above his head, and requested for a water bottle, so Dark would have one, and more importantly it was sealed, so he would be more willing to accept it.

Dark stared at it, taking it carefully and examining it intently.

"It's sealed, so if you're worried they slipped a sleeping pill in it or something, that's impossible..." Mephiles explained gently, taking an empty styrofoam cup and taking the bottle from him and pouring the water after he opened it in front of him. He handed him the cup. "Take a deep breath, calm down, and sip this slowly. Can you do that, please..?"

Dark gave him a strange look, took it and sipped at it carefully. It seemed like everything was going to be fine now, but when the cup was half empty, he spat out what was in his mouth and threw the cup at the window when he glanced back at it, water splattering against the plexiglass.

Dark was choking on his last gulp of liquid, coughing roughly and gasping as he clawed at his chest, pointing frantically at the window. Once he coughed the water out of his trachea, and inhaled deeply, he managed a wheezy and unintelligible cry of fright, eyes watering as he shook his head.

Mephiles was getting weary of this, not because he was annoyed, but because he was concerned for Dark's well being. Whatever he did didn't seem to work even the slightest.

He reached over to the window cover and pulled it down again.

"Dark, just stop." He said firmly, grabbing the shadow's wrist as Dark reached for the cover again shakily. "If it's upsetting you to look out there, then stop. We'll be on the ground in a couple hours. Just hang in there until then."

"_B-but-!_" Dark stuttered, pointing at the window with a trembling hand.

"Dark..." Mephiles said in a low voice, trying to reason with him again. "... If you keep this up, they'll throw you in an ambulance when we touch down, and take you to the hospital... Everyone else already thinks you've lost it... They don't understand that you're just upset... Please calm down, nothing bad is going to happen..."

Dark gave him the worst look he could have received. The kind of look filled with aguish and hurt. Dark was upset that he of all people didn't believe him.

Dark blinked, and folded his arms.

"_Right... Fine..._" He said in a calm voice, almost too calm. "_I get it... My craziness is upsetting everyone else..._"

"I didn't mean-"

"_Stop. I get it. I'm a nut. Okay._" Dark turned away from him and leaned against the seat. "_We'll see if I'm still crazy when something happens..._"

Mephiles was at a loss. Nothing he did worked, and Dark was both upset and angry with him. What's more, Dark's idle comments were really starting to unnerve him.

"... Alright... What would happen _if_ he was out there..?"

Dark lifted his head and looked at him disinterestedly, then looked away.

"_... He's fire... His mere presence on the wing is the problem..._" Dark muttered, keeping his back to him. "_... Now... What happens when there's a flame on the wing..?_"

"... It burns..?"

"_It burns what..?_"

"The wing..?"

"_Is that an answer or a question?_"

"The wing." Mephiles said as a statement in a small voice.

Dark nodded.

"_And if the wing burns... What happens then..?_" Dark encouraged him to elaborate more.

"... The plane will crash..." Mephiles said slowly, looking a little more nervous. He shook his head. "But, I don't see anything out there... And I can't sense him..." He protested. "And, how could he be on the wing this high up? The altitude and cold air would kill him... Well, he's supposed to be dead already..." Mephiles added as an afterthought.

Dark lifted his ears and looked up again.

"_... Yes... There would be no way he could be in such a cold environment..._" He said slowly, narrowing his eyes in thought. He lifted the cover again and peered out the window once more.

Nothing.

Not that he was going to let it go.

"_Maybe there's an explanation..._" He mumbled, ignoring Mephiles' concerned look. "_He's just as sneaky as me... There has to be a reason..._"

Mephiles grabbed him by the shoulders, pulled him away from the window again, slammed the cover down forcefully, and shoved him back into his seat.

"Dark, stop it right now!" He pleaded. "I don't know what's wrong, but I'm trying my best! There's nothing out there! There never was! You're probably having some kind of panic attack because you're claustrophobic, and you don't even realize you're having an episode! Everything is gonna be fine, and we'll be home in a couple hours! Please be reasonable and calm down! _Please!_"

Dark grabbed him by the shoulders as well and lifted his foot up to kick him back, then shoved him out of the way and pushed passed him to get to the isle, tripping over the hedgehog and ending up scrambling on the floor, everyone else shrinking back from him.

Well... Everyone but Shadow.

Shadow managed to scruff him on the back of the neck, causing Dark's body to involuntarily curl in on itself the way a kitten or puppy does when scruffed. Dark growled dangerously at him.

"Look, you need to calm down." Shadow told him, dragging him back to his seat. "You're making everyone think you've gone ballistic, which is startling the other passengers, because they've had to be locked up in here with you."

"_... No one believes me..._" Dark growled lowly, trying futilely to pull free, but was not able to get out of that hold.

"Meph, what's he going on about now?"

"... He's convinced that the wing will catch on fire..." Mephiles said in a small voice as he pushed himself up, holding a hand to his side. "... I honestly don't think he's purposely trying to cause trouble..." The hedgehog tried to defend his brother. "... I think he must be having a claustrophobic episode... He keeps trying to look out the window, and tell me that he sees something..."

"Can't you get him to stop..?"

"I've been trying!" Mephiles squeaked, narrowing his eyes. "If it's really a panicking episode, then he can't stop it right away... It's just like when I have a panic attack! You know how unreasonable and unresponsive I get during those, right?"

"... So... He really is freaking out..?" Shadow looked down at Dark, who was barking at him to let him go. "... Well... This is bad..."

"You think I don't know that?"

"I meant that it's bad, because we have a hysterical Dark on our hands..." Shadow explained. "Every time he's hysterical, the situation keeps getting worse until some sense gets back to him..."

"I've been trying, and all that's happen is that he's gotten worse by the hour..." Mephiles told him helplessly. "He thinks I'm against him now..."

"Just for not believing him..?"

"That's not the point, whether or not I do." Mephiles got out into the isle and helped Shadow get Dark back in his seat, Mephiles holding his wrists down as Dark fought back. "What's important is that he needs to know that nothing is going to go wrong, and that I'm trying to assure him that it'll be alright..."

Dark's face suddenly paled to a sick light cream color, body shivering feverishly as he moaned weakly between soft gasps, as if he felt physically ill.

Mephiles noticed this, let him go and plucked the airsickness bag out of the pocket of the seat, shook it open and handed to him, placing a hand on his back and rubbing it slowly to help calm him down.

"... Oh dear, I was afraid that he was going to worry himself sick..." Mephiles said gently, looking away for a moment as Dark dry heaved into the bag, having not really eaten anything for a while and had hardly anything to send up. "... Dark..? Are you going to be alright..?"

The color returned to his face slowly, and he started to turn his head to look at the window, but Mephiles stopped him.

"There's nothing out there, Dark..." He said carefully, trying to get it through to him. "If you want... I can keep watch out there for you..?" He offered, trying to find a compromise.

Dark paused before nodding slowly, realizing that if he kept up without any signs of ceasing, he would be taken away for sure. Since Dark seemed to be the only one who saw anything, maybe things wouldn't be so hectic now if Mephiles was watching for him. And if he did see something, it would prove Dark words to be true.

Dark forced a weak smile and leaned against Mephiles exhaustedly. His exertion had finally caught up to him, and he felt like he was going to pass out at any given second.

Mephiles was sure that they were going to be fine... And Mephiles was good about sensing things... Of course... Why didn't he realize it before..? ... … … ... Dark snorted awake, his head hitting the wall his head was resting on as he jolted.

"Whoa, Dark..." He heard Mephiles' voice. "You okay..?"

Dark looked up, blinking as he tried to clear his blurry vision, rubbing at the back of his head on the sore spot.

"_... How... How long was I asleep..?_" He frowned.

"I don't know... Hours..?" Mephiles shrugged, wondering why Dark was trying to sound so quiet now.

"_... What, like... Two..?_"

"No... More like the whole flight..." Mephiles figured Dark must have been confused and lost track of the time after he dozed off.

Dark's eyes widened.

"_You're_ joking." He said incredulously. "_So, I didn't freak out and cause problems for anyone..? Or panic or anything..?_"

"About what..?" Mephiles was pretty confused now. He raised his eyebrows. "... You didn't have... A... A bad dream or anything, did you..?" He had paused on the descriptive word, knowing that Dark was very likely to deny something like that very quickly.

Dark looked at him with a strange look before snorting and tossing his head back to laugh with relief, holding a hand to his head.

"_Oh, good... I was getting real worried there..._" He explained as Mephiles inched away nervously, tossing a look down the isle, presumably at Shadow or Rouge. "_... I was convinced that I was going to be taken to an asylum after we landed... That's a relief..._" He gave a weak giggle, as if the initial thought had unnerved him. "_And you were there... And Shadow... And that guy-_" Dark pointed to a random passenger. "_And that guy... And her right over there... Pretty much everyone..._"

"Huh... Feel better now..?"

"_Much..._" Dark nodded. "_Oh... And Iblis was there, but kinda wasn't... And everyone thought I was crazy..._"

"That sure sounds like it was a bad dream..." Mephiles agreed, looking back at Dark, who nodded again.

"_Two steps away from a complete nightmare..._" Dark added. "_I'll be glad when we're finally off..._"

"... Me, too... I'm tired of being airsick..." Mephiles smiled weakly. "... We touch down in ten minutes..."

Dark smiled back, glad to see that this was almost over.

"I wonder how far up from the ground we are..?"

Without thinking, Dark almost looked out the window, but stopped, having a strange look on his face before reaching for the cover and pulling it shut without looking.

"_... I'd rather not know..._" He explained, shaking his head.

"... Don't tell me you're afraid of heights too..." Mephiles half joked nervously.

Dark almost glared but caught himself.

"_No... Of course not..._" He forced a laugh, shaking his head.

It was probably for the best that he had shut that window. It was probably for the best that he had decided not to look out there. Because he might has seen the small scorches on the metal of the wing. Nothing too damaging or dangerous... But all the same enough to horrify him...


End file.
